Friday, January 21, 2011

A rare RAW interview

The very popular and successful bOING bOING blog originally was an offbeat magazine edited by gurus of cool Mark Frauenfelder and Carla Sinclair. It was my favorite magazine (I once phoned it because I was so upset that it hadn't published any new issues) and Mark and Carla have ever since been big favorites of mine. I let my subscription to "Playboy" magazine expire after it dropped Mark's Internet column. (Carla once was photographed for the magazine, so they both have a connection with the publication where Wilson worked and conceived ILLUMINATUS!)

But I missed the first couple of issues of the magazine, and so I did not know, until Thursday, that the very first issue included an interview with Robert Anton Wilson. A PDF of that first issue is available for $2. I bought a copy after being tipped off by a friend, Gary Shindler, who keeps on eye on pop culture for me.

A taste:

BB: I was disappointed when I learned that last year's Libertarian candidate for president, Ron Paul, is an anti-abortionist.

RAW: I didn't know that. I'm theoretically a Libertarian, but I know they're never going to win so I don't even pay that much attention to the Libertarian Party. What I like about the Libertarian Party is they throw good parties. They invite me to their conventions and I have a good time. I kind of wish that they would have nominated Russell Means. I thought he would have been a colorful candidate. The idea of a Native American running on the Libertarian ticket would have gotten more publicity. I mean, it's all show biz these days. I keep telling all the Democrats I know they should persuade Paul Newman to run for president. He's been a Democrat all his life and he'd win hands down. The Republicans have nobody they can put up against him. Could they get Charlton Heston? Hell no! Heston looks his age, Newman doesn't. Newman hands down, a walk in. The Democrats don't think that way. The Republicans are way ahead of them in terms of PR.

1 comment:

The question jarred me. Imagine someone saying "i was disappointed to find out Ron Paul was an anti-vivisectionist"

It's my understanding that Philip K Dick had an anti-abortion stance. One of his short stories involved a future where children could be disappeared up until the age of 12. His heavy handed point being the arbitrary nature of abortion cut-off periods. For me personally, I'd side with Dick on this one. I have a tape where RAW ridicules the 'fetus as person' argument and argues that an acorn is not an oak and an egg is not a chicken but I find these to be poor comparisons. At the same time he makes sense that the term you use - fetus or baby - nearly always defines the argument you are about to make. Interestingly, Buddhism, which is seen by some Westerners as a fairly 'permissive' religion, considers abortion as one of the unforgivabe sins.

I realise that the divide over abortion is a particularly emotive one and for me I certainly would not want to impose my belief on someone else but I do think there is much hypocrisy and arbitrariness on both sides of the debate.

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A daily posting from Tom Jackson about my favorite writer, Robert Anton Wilson. I also seek material by or about Robert Shea, Mr. Wilson's collaborator in writing "Illuminatus!" If you have tips, you may write me at tom.jackson@gmail.com. Please put "Robert Anton Wilson" in the subject line.